AJC.com > Blogs > Get Schooled > Archives > 2007 > September > 20
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Turning Around Troubled Youth: Whose Responsibility Is It?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My colleague Bill Sanders has written a series of articles lately about troubled teens and some of the unusual programs being used to help them.
Today’s front-page story about a family that turned their struggles with an unruly child into a ministry was perhaps the most extreme example of the lengths some parents go to in their search for a solution.
Partly because of Bill’s articles — including one earlier this week about a Fulton County public school using dirt bikes as an incentive to get kids with discipline problems on the right track — I’ve been thinking a lot about programs targeting so called at-risk youth.
Last week, I listened to a presentation before the Atlanta Board of Education about how the flexible scheduling program at Crim Open Campus High School is working. At Crim, struggling students — many of whom are teenage parents or former dropouts — work at their own pace to earn credits they need for a diploma.
When the program started two years ago, officials expected about 300 students. They got 546. This year, more than 800 teens and young adults have enrolled.
So tell me: With that kind of demand, should public schools be doing more to address the needs of kids who have gotten into drugs, crime and teenage pregnancy, or are they doing too much already?
